The team at WorkCompCentral is stunned and deeply saddened by David DePaolo's sudden departure from this world. He passed away Sunday, July 17 in a motorcycle accident. However, we are all committed to carry on and continue to fulfill David's vision of providing workers compensation professionals with the most unbiased news, education and resources in the industry. We will also strive to make this year's Comp Laude® Awards & Gala event the best ever. The Comp Laude® event encapsulates his vision and passion for the industry. David was very proud of the team that he had assembled and we are working very hard to support each other and our valued customers.

Top Story: Thursday, May 24, 2018

Rather than trying to clarify the Medical-Legal Fee Schedule, some observers are suggesting that the California Division of Workers’ Compensation undertake more of a soup-to-nuts review of the billing rules, or a broader reassessment of the nearly 14-year-old qualified medical evaluator process.
The DWC in May posted to its online forum proposed rules… Read more »

Some 28 years after New Hampshire passed the nation’s first presumptive cancer bill, the state’s firefighters may finally be able to begin accessing workers’ comp coverage.
Passed on a not-unanimous voice vote on Wednesday, Senate Bill 541 did not contain a funding mechanism. The legislature’s first effort to create a cancer… Read more »

Eight months after Texas regulators released a study showing no difference in outcomes for accredited versus non-accredited rehabilitation providers, an international accreditation group is taking issue with the report's findings and methodology.
The Commission on the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, or CARF International,… Read more »

The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously rejected a constitutional challenge to a 2014 statutory amendment that allowed workers to collect a lump-sum payment of benefits if they develop occupationally caused mesothelioma.
As amended, Missouri Revised… Read more »

A Los Angeles physician, and the owner and the manager of a Los Angeles ambulance service, were added to the California Division of Workers’ Compensation banned medical provider list on Wednesday.
The DWC issued suspension orders against Dr. Ronald Grusd, who was convicted in federal court last year for his participation in an illegal referral scheme. Providers Steven… Read more »

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission can deny approval for an agreement between an employer and employee to commute the employee’s future award of benefits if the proposed lump… Read more »

A divided Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that a government employee had suffered an incapacitating injury by way of “accident” from the overuse of her arm to type the reports required for a public health education program.
Case: Pasco v. Board of Trustees of the Employees'… Read more »

A New York appellate court ruled that the Workers’ Compensation Board properly determined that a permanently, partially disabled worker had failed to maintain his attachment to the labor market, but substantial evidence did not support the… Read more »

Malpractice reform in utilization review is again on the line, this time because the California Supreme Court has scheduled hearings King v. CompPartners on Tuesday.
The case resolves about the rights of an injured worker when UR denies access to treatment… Read more »

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled that an electrical foreman was not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits for his injuries from a car accident that happened while traveling to a job site.
Case: Kush v. WCAB (Power Contracting Co.), No. 1688 C.D. 2017, 05/17/2018, published.
Facts: James Kush worked as an electrical foreman for the Power Contracting Co. and the Vantage Corp. He… Read more »

Regulations proposed by the New York Workers’ Compensation Board seek to expand the number of law school students who represent claimants.
The board posted notice in Wednesday’s State Register that it is proposing an amendment to Section 302-1.6 of Title 12 of the New York Code of Rules and Regulations that would allow law school students to represent parties at board proceedings, regardless of whether they have been sanctioned by a legal aid… Read more »

The Tennessee General Assembly this year crafted a number of changes to workers' compensation laws, some of which took effect last month, and some of which take effect in July.
The state's Bureau of Workers' Compensation published a summary of the changes this week:
Weekly benefit rates adjusted. For injuries… Read more »

A lawyer for Seattle Seahawks players complains that the team unfairly denies claims and that the Department of Labor & Industry “rubber-stamps” the self-insured football club’s decisions, according to a report by the King 5 television station in Seattle.
The “King 5 Investigators’” report focuses on a claim filed by retired Seahawks… Read more »

Members of the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation will discuss options for implementing recommendations to support the $120 million supplemental benefit program in California while also hearing preliminary findings from a review of the vocation education voucher program,… Read more »